Promises, Lies, and Dreams
by AxCfangirl
Summary: Shinn promised to protect her. He never meant to lie. But some promises are destined to be broken; some lies are never meant to be told, yet still told. A promise becomes a lie, and a lie becomes a promise. Then, everything leads to a dream: in the past, and in the present, to the future. Slightly SL
1. Yesterday

English is not my first language. Please bear with grammatical errors.

And for your information, my fic is based on the remastered version (but I watched the original version, too).

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD.**

* * *

—Promises of Yesterday—

* * *

Shutting down his computer, Shinn rubbed his eyes. He had been chatting, and complaining, with his friends online about how adults tended to overreact for almost an hour. It was already past his bedtime. But he knew his parents were too busy checking for news to check up on him.

For the past couple weeks, the Earth Alliance had been strongly pressuring neutral countries to join it. And there had been a rumor that it had secretly threatened to use drastic measures. Some people even said warships had been sent to attack Orb.

Not only his parents but many adults had been uptight because of it, which in his opinion was rather ridiculous, though he wouldn't say it in front of his parents. It wasn't like Orb was going to start a war with the EA, right? Orb was a neutral country. Even though it didn't side with the EA, it wouldn't side with PLANT, either. Everyone knew it, including those crazy people in the EA. So why did the adults make such a fuss?

His parents had even canceled visiting a park, where his family often went camping, this weekend because it was three hours away from their house by car, which was too far in their opinion. They said it was better to stay close to home in case the situation became serious. They had not changed their mind no matter how much his sister begged.

He didn't mind not going to the park as much as his sister did. He would rather play with his friends than go out with his family.

But his parents insisted his sister and he tell them exactly where they were going and what time they were coming back, much to his annoyance. They had become upset when he had come home later than he had said this evening, even though he had been only twenty minutes late. His father had even threatened to ground him if he was late again.

 _A_ _dults_ _._ He scoffed as he snuck out of his bedroom to go to bathroom. He could hear his parents talking in serious tones and the sound of the TV from their bedroom.

Shaking his head, he returned to his room, and his bed. As he reached out to turn the light off, the door creaked. His sleepy eyes turned in the direction.

"Can I sleep here?" His sister peeked from behind the door.

He sighed. "Sure. But I take the bed."

Mayu pouted, but hurried in the room, hugging her pillow and dragging a blanket.

He helped her pull out a thick rug from under his bed, which was kept there for times like this.

It wasn't unusual for his sister to sleep in his room. He sometimes even let her take his bed. Although she was rather a saucy girl, she was quite pampered, especially by him. Not that he admitted it in front of his friends. He had a reputation to protect.

Spreading her blanket on the rug, she asked, "Do you think we can go to the park next weekend?"

"Yeah. Or the weekend after next." He shrugged. "Mom said, everything'll go back to normal soon, right? Then we can."

"Yeah..." She paused thoughtfully before casting an upward glance at him. "You play hide-and-seek with me when we go there?"

He rolled his eyes. He was too old to play with his baby sister. When they visited the park, he usually spent time alone or played with boys around his age, or sometimes with his father if he insisted.

"Please?" She looked at him with her puppy dog eyes. He couldn't say no to those eyes.

He groaned. "Fine."

She broke into a wide grin. "You promised! Don't forget!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep already," he said, hoping she would forget the promise by the next time they went to the park.

She happily jumped under the blanket as he got back to the bed and turned the light off.

After several moments of silence, she quietly called to him, "Big Brother?"

He yawned. "What?"

"What if...those machines come to our house?" she asked in a worried voice. He remembered she had looked a little frightened while watching mobile suits fighting with a warship on TV.

"They won't."

"But what if they do?" she demanded.

"Then I'll protect you," he answered, not really thinking about it. He just wanted to go to sleep. Actually, he was half asleep.

"You promise?"

"Sure...I promise..." he mumbled, hearing her heave a relieved sigh and falling into an untroubled sleep.

It was the last peaceful night he spent with his sister, and his parents. The next day, the Orb government confirmed the rumors and ordered the citizens to evacuate. He couldn't really sleep that night, thousands of thoughts and emotions in his mind.

Then, the day after next, his family died during evacuation. He was left alone. All alone in this universe. Without anyone to protect him. Without anyone to protect.

* * *

Neo was the only adult Stellar liked. In fact, he was the only person she _really_ liked. Other adults, either scientists or soldiers, weren't nice people. They talked to her roughly or coldly, never reassuring or encouraging her. They never patted her gently or playfully like Neo did.

Two boys she worked with, Sting and Auel, were fine. She liked them. But they weren't as nice as Neo. They sometimes said bad things, scary things. She couldn't remember exactly what they had said, but she remembered they had.

However, Neo had never said such things. He never frightened her. He always assured her that she would be all right when she was panicked or simply scared.

She didn't quite remember what she was afraid of. The only thing she remembered was that there were scary things like death, and bad people who tried to bring death to her.

She didn't know beyond that, or care. All that mattered to her was to do a good job so that Neo would smile and praise her. Like today.

During the training this afternoon, she had made a high score on the simulator, quite an improvement from last week.

"Well done, Stellar. I'm sure you can pilot the mobile suit really well after we seize it," Neo said in a satisfied and somewhat proud tone, checking her record.

He looked at her with a smile. "I suppose you deserve a reward. I promised Auel and Sting to buy some stuff, but for you..." He paused. "How about I take you to a beach? There's one about an hour away from here. I think we can get a half day off next week."

"Beach?" Her face lit up at the word.

"Yep. You like the sea, don't you?"

"Yes!"

He grinned. "It's settled then."

After he left to do some work, she danced happily. She loved the sea, and had seen it several times when aboard warships. But she had never been to a beach. Every time she saw, in photographs and videos, people playing with waves on a beach, she wanted to do it herself. She wanted to walk on the sand in bare feet, put them in the water, and—

Stopping suddenly, she tilted her head. For a second, she had felt odd...as if she had actually been on a beach and done those things before. But it couldn't be true.

She started dancing again, not really caring about the odd feeling. It wasn't important. She was too busy dancing and imagining what she would do on the beach Neo had promised to take her to.

She was so excited that she told Sting and Auel about the promise while they were eating supper at the cafeteria, which was unusual for her. She wasn't very chatty, and normally daydreamed without talking much with other people.

When she left the cafeteria, she even smiled, though softly, at a few scientists watching her with weird expressions.

···

"Stellar." The familiar voice stopped her.

She turned around to run down the corridor toward him. "Neo!"

She had just woken up from the sleep in "the cradle," which had been suddenly required for some reason. She didn't mind sleeping in it. She felt comfortable and protected there, and she liked it, though she had never liked the people with white coats who handled "the cradle."

"It's about what I promised you yesterday." Neo grinned. "It seems like we can take a whole day off."

She tilted her head. "What promise?"

He stared at her for several moments, and then looked in the direction of the room where "the cradle" was. His body was tense as if he was angry at something. She wondered if it was her. Did she do something bad?

"Neo?"

His face turned back to her. He didn't look angry anymore. Instead, he looked sad. Even though half his face was covered by a mask, she could tell, and she felt sad as well.

"Is Neo hurt? Scared?" She looked at him with worried eyes.

He put on a smile and patted her head. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry."

She smiled back, glad that he no longer had a sad face. "Stellar likes Neo."

His face softened. "I like you, too, Stellar." And then he whispered, "I'm sorry."

She blinked, not able to understand why he was sorry.

He shook his head with a smile. "Nothing. Never mind."

···

"No!" she screamed, "Don't! Someone's gonna die! It's scary! No!"

She was so frightened that she could think of nothing but escaping. She had to go to a safe place. Somewhere death couldn't reach. Somewhere no one could harm her. Somewhere no one died.

"I'll protect you!" The words pierced her mind, chasing away her panic and soothing her fear.

 _He_ _..._ _protects_ _...S_ _tellar_ _?_

Shinn was the first person who had ever promised that. Even Neo had not done it. She felt safe, warm, and happy.

So she gave him her treasure, a pink seashell she had found on a beach this morning. It was pretty. She liked pretty things and beautiful things. She was glad he liked it, too.

The seashell twinkled in his hand, reflecting the light from the fire, as if it was a seal of the promise.

* * *

 ***posted 05/20** **/16***


	2. Today

:

* * *

—Lies of Today—

* * *

Shinn was used to hearing Lunamaria gossiping about something, anything, but he usually didn't pay much attention. So he almost missed it when she mentioned a rumor about him.

She had been chattering about the FAITH pilot who had just joined the Minerva, but suddenly changed the subject, saying with a grin, "Hey, by the way, I heard you got...intimate with a pretty girl?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked back, confused.

"Oh, don't pretend you have no idea! Everyone knows you were with a girl in a cave doing _stars know what_." She gave him a meaningful look.

"Wh—what?!" he nearly shouted, this time fully understanding what she was talking about, and unfortunately what she was implying.

"She's not—we didn't—who said that?! Athrun?!" He asked furiously, balling his hands into fists. How could they think such a stupid, and inappropriate, thing about an innocent, fragile girl like Stellar? They should be ashamed—no, disgusted with themselves.

Lunamaria looked at him as if he was the one saying a stupid thing. "Do you really think Athrun says something like that? He doesn't even joke! It's Tim."

"Who?"

"Tim from the Security Department. Didn't you recognize him? I heard he sailed the boat Athrun used to pick you up."

He frowned. He couldn't remember the man's face, but he was determined to find him and make him pay for spreading a displeasing rumor about Stellar and him.

"So what really happened?" Lunamaria lifted an eyebrow.

He realized she had not believed the rumor and been only teasing him, which made him a little relieved, and very irritated.

He briefly considered leaving without saying anything, which would surely disappoint her. However, he decided against it. Telling her what had actually happened was probably a good way to dispel the rumor, in addition to punching the man who had started it.

"I just saved her when she was drowning in the sea."

"That's it?" She looked disappointed. "Didn't she say anything? Like she'll write a letter to you or something?"

"Well...I promised to go see her."

"I see." She grinned, and he instantly regretted having told her.

"Are you gonna visit—oh, no, you can't. There's no way you can have a day off again. You're gonna call her before we leave here? Wait, is she from here?"

"I...don't know."

She raised her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you don't know where she lives." He remained silent. "But you at least know her number, right?" He still refused to open his mouth.

She shook her head, exhaling a long, dramatic sigh. "Seriously? You're so stupid, Shinn. How can you see her again if you know nothing about her? She could be a traveler from somewhere far."

Annoyed, he spat, "Shut up, Luna. It's none of your business."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't take it out on me. I'm not the one who forgot to ask her for her address or her number."

He angrily turned around and walked back to his room, stamping his feet.

He was disappointed to find Rey wasn't in their room. He wanted to vent to someone. Grumbling, he roughly took off his red coat and threw it on his bed.

Then, his eyes fell on a seashell on his desk. The seashell Stellar had given him.

He stared at it, feeling guilty. He had to admit Lunamaria was right, which was one of the reasons why he was angry. He didn't even know Stellar's family name, though maybe she couldn't have answered anyway even if he had asked. But he could still have asked her "brothers." Yet he hadn't, and now he had no idea how to find her. How could he fulfil the promises he had made to her then?

It felt like he had lied to her. _But_ _I_ _didn_ _'_ _t mean to_ , he defended himself. It was the intention that counted, right?

He had meant it when he had told her he would protect her and come to see her. Well, maybe he had not meant he would always protect her, but he had truly wanted to keep her safe and make her feel safe, even for a short while.

He knew what it felt like. He knew the fear of death, the fear of watching someone die, someone you loved.

He took the seashell, holding it in his hand protectively.

 _I_ _may not see you again. But I_ _'_ _ll protect people like you_ _…_ _and Mayu. And_ _…_ _me._

The promise made him feel good, and a smile played on his lips.

* * *

Stellar was suffering. She was hurting, every part of her body. She was suffocating, and those belts binding her didn't help.

She wanted to see Neo. She wanted to go somewhere else. She didn't like it here. People here weren't nice, worse than those scientists and soldiers she had known. Except for Shinn.

The only thing that comforted her was that he was with her. He had come to see her. And she knew he would take her somewhere not scary, because he had promised to protect her.

She remembered that. He did, too. He had the seashell she had given him.

"Let's get you home." He smiled at her, and made the same promise.

She gave back a smile, relieved.

While they were on a mobile suit, heading somewhere, he talked to her. "It'll be all right. I'm gonna get you somewhere safe, okay? I promise, Stellar. You'll go back to a beautiful and peaceful place. There'll be no more fighting, no more scary things, and...and you'll be fine. You will. I'm sure you will."

She couldn't see his face, but he sounded sad, almost crying. She didn't understand why. Was it because of the promise he had just made? She vaguely remembered Neo had looked sad when he was talking about some promise she had not understood about.

 _I_ _s a promise sad_ _?_

She couldn't understand it. She liked a promise. She felt relieved when Neo promised everything would be all right and so she didn't have to be scared. She had been happy when Shinn had promised to protect her, and when he had come to see her as promised.

 _A_ _promise isn_ _'_ _t sad, Shinn._ She wanted to tell him so, but she was too weak. She could only say his name.

They got out of the cockpit and Shinn talked to someone. She recognized the voice. It was Neo, who said in a gloomy tone, "I...promise."

Hearing it made her sad and more confused. _N_ _eo_ _'_ _s sad, too_ _._

Shinn placed her in Neo's arms and put a jar in her hand. The pink seashell in the jar was as pretty as it had looked when she had given it to him. She liked seeing it.

"Don't forget me."

She wanted to say she promised. She wanted to promise to not forget him. She liked a promise and wanted to make a promise to him, which should make him as happy as his promises, and Neo's promises, had made her.

However, she was really confused. It seemed like both Shinn and Neo didn't like a promise. She didn't want them to be sad. So she didn't make a promise. She only smiled weakly at him.

He turned around and walked back to his mobile suit.

She stared at his back. She watched him go, walk away and fly away from her.

 _S_ _hinn said_ _..._ _he_ _'_ _ll protect Stellar_ _..._

She didn't understand why he was leaving her. Was it because he was so sad due to a promise? Did he hate a promise? But he was the one who had made a promise to her before, wasn't he?

With sad eyes, she watched his mobile suit become smaller and smaller...and then gone. She looked down at the seashell. She hoped that it was a sign of a promise. That he had given it back to her as a promise he would come back.

 _B_ _ut Shinn doesn_ _'_ _t like a promise_ _..._

Feeling heartbroken, she whispered his name once again. But he was nowhere to be seen, not coming back to her, not protecting her.

* * *

 ***posted 05/21** **/16***


	3. Tomorrow

:

* * *

—Dreams of Tomorrow—

* * *

Waves of panic swallowed Stellar, dragging her deeper and deeper into chaos. Neo was gone. His mobile suit had been shot down by another one. He probably had died.

No one would protect her, then. She was going to die, too. Everyone was going to die. Everyone was going to be killed.

Like Neo had said.

She couldn't let that happen. She had to fight. She had to destroy all scary things. She had to destroy everything.

Like Neo had said.

That was all she knew. That was the only thing in her mind now.

"You're not gonna die!" someone shouted.

She didn't know the voice, but it gave her an odd feeling. It somehow sounded familiar.

"I'll...I will protect you!"

Then, she remembered. She remembered him. She remembered the promise. She remembered she was safe. Because Shinn was here. He had come to see her. He had come back to protect her.

The storm in her mind was lulled into a calm. All her fear and panic were gone, like darkness driven away by light.

She called out to him, and reached out to him. She thought she held him, and he held her. She felt safe and warm. She was so happy. And she knew she was all right.

But then, the darkness came back to her, clouding her mind and destroying the peace she had felt a moment ago.

···

Someone was holding her. Someone was calling her name. She knew the voice. She knew who it was.

She opened her eyes. And there he was, just as she had expected. Shinn was looking down at her with teary eyes. He looked very sad.

However, she wasn't. She smiled at him. _I_ _t_ _'_ _s all right_ _._

She tried to touch him, and he securely held her hand in his.

 _S_ _tellar isn_ _'_ _t afraid. No more scary things_ _._

Because Shinn had come. He had kept his promise. So she knew she didn't have to be afraid anymore. He had promised she would go to a beautiful and peaceful place. There would be nothing for her to be scared of.

And she knew she would see him again. She had seen him yesterday. She saw him today. So she would see him tomorrow. She knew it. There was nothing for her to feel sad about. And she wanted him to smile, too.

"Stellar...likes...Shinn..." she told him. She remembered Neo had always smiled when she said this to him. She hoped Shinn would, too.

But she couldn't see if he smiled. She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

Drifting into a restful sleep, she had a dream. She saw tomorrow. She saw Shinn. He was sleeping down in the clear, deep blue sea, surrounded by floating lights. She liked the sight. The dream was beautiful and peaceful, exactly like he had promised.

She smiled. She would be all right, and he would be as well.

 _S_ _hinn, see you_ _..._ _tomorrow_ _..._

* * *

Shinn was standing frozen. He couldn't believe his eyes. He had not expected to see something like this.

He was at the entrance of the park his family used to visit. He was going back to PLANT tomorrow, and had wanted to visit the place again before leaving Orb. He had asked Lunamaria to come with him since he was reluctant to come here by himself. Meyrin had tagged along.

But the park looked completely different from what he remembered. The ground looked recently leveled. Trees seemed to have been recently planted, too. Flowerbeds were empty, though some people were working on filling them, planting flowers.

The further end of the entrance area, where "Keep Out" signs were posted, was still under reconstruction: holes in the ground, burned and battered trees, broken playground equipment and flowerbeds.

"Excuse me. What happened here?" Lunamaria asked an old woman who passed them carrying a seedling tray.

The woman answered good-naturedly, "This park was burned during the war when ZAFT attacked. But it's only the entrance area and no one died or got seriously injured. Thank Haumea."

He was speechless. He was one of the people who had attacked. It might have been he that had burned this park, a place important to him, where his many happy memories with his family had taken place.

He felt glad, again, that Orb had not been destroyed. That he had not destroyed the country. He had not wanted to destroy this place. He didn't want to see the park like this. He had never wanted to be the one to create a sight like this.

"Do you wanna join planting?" the woman asked with a friendly smile.

The three blinked, perplexed.

Holding out the tray, she continued in an almost pushy way, "Just one. It won't take long. We'd like as many people to take part as possible."

He gazed at seedlings. This woman reminded him of his conversation with the brunet he had hated so much and almost killed.

Lunamaria started, "Um...sorry, but we're—"

"We'll do it," he said hastily. The two red-heads stared at him with surprised faces. "Well, I—I want to," he added, his face a little flushed.

The woman's smile became wider. "Good. Come here. Follow me."

He trailed the woman. The Hawke sisters followed suit. They started to plant seedlings in one of the flowerbeds.

Taking notice of a plate on its edge, Meyrin tilted her head. "What's this name written here?"

"That's my son's name. He died in the First War."

The three teens stared at the old woman who was gazing at the name with a sad, but gentle smile.

"I often took him here when he was still a kid. When I heard this park was burned and gonna be reconstructed, I donated some money. They said, I can put my son's name somewhere in the park as a remembrance, and I chose a flowerbed. It makes me feel like those flowers are for him."

She motioned toward other flowerbeds. "I'm not the only one. You can see some of them also have a name on it. On trees and other places, too."

The three soldiers silently continued planting, which was over soon.

The woman looked at the planted seedlings with satisfaction and thanked them. She pointed to a small fountain near the flowerbed and said they could wash their hands there before excusing herself to go to talk to someone.

While the girls were washing their hands, Shinn stood looking at the plate which had the name of the woman's late son.

 _"W_ _e_ _'_ _ll plant flowers again, no matter how many times they_ _'_ _re blown away_ _."_

He shifted his eyes to the seedling he had just planted, and then to his hands. They were dirty, but he liked it. He felt good.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lunamaria asked in a concerned tone.

He lifted his shoulders. "Sure."

Lunamaria put on a relieved smile.

Stepping toward the fountain, he blinked at some water hitting Lunamaria's face.

"Wha—Meyrin!" Lunamaria yelled at her sister who was laughing. Meyrin had collected water in her hands and sprinkled it over Lunamaria.

The older red-head grabbed a watering pot at her feet to splash the water inside it on her sister's head.

Meyrin widened her eyes. "Big Sister! You ruined my hair!"

"Serves you right. You started it." Lunamaria huffed, looking smug.

"I didn't get you _this_ soaked!"

Watching the sisters quarrel and washing the dirt off his hands, he snorted. _T_ _hey_ _'_ _re always noisy_ _._ But he wasn't really annoyed. In fact, he was glad for the noise they were making. He was glad he wasn't alone.

Wiping his hands on his pants, he straightened up to look around.

Someday, this place would be full of flowers again, and children would happily play among them like Mayu and he used to. And perhaps there would be a girl who liked dancing, like Stellar.

He could picture the scene in his mind. It felt like a dream now, but would be real soon.

Mayu and Stellar wouldn't be there. They would never come back to or visit this park. But the scene was still good enough. It was something worth protecting, something he wanted to protect.

He knew how precious such a scene was, how easily lost. He had not known it the last time he had visited this park. When he had been one of the children playing here. It had been an ordinary, even boring scene. He had never known how fortunate he was to be part of it. He had even complained, for he had wanted to go to his friend's house instead.

He didn't know whether it was a good thing that he now understood it painfully well. If he had not lost his family, he would probably have never realized it. He would have still been ignorant. But he would have been happier even though he wasn't aware of exactly how happy he was.

Perhaps it was a bad thing that he could understand the true value of the scene.

But then again, it didn't matter anyway. Good or bad, he understood it, and that was it. It was the fact, the reality. No one could change it. No one could change the past.

All that mattered now was that he wanted to protect the ordinary, boring, and truly valuable scene.

That was what he wanted to do. That was the reason why he fought. Not to destroy something. Not to kill someone. Not for revenge. But to protect.

That was what he was going to do.

He had not been able to protect Mayu. He had not been able to protect his parents. He had not been able to protect Stellar. He even had nearly killed Lunamaria.

They were painful memories, but he couldn't forget them. He didn't want to. They were still memories of the people he had loved.

And he shouldn't forget them. He had to remember everything so that he wouldn't make the same mistake. So that he could protect something, someone he loved, next time.

 _"T_ _hat_ _'_ _s your job. Put an end to all the past_ _!"_ A voice echoed in his mind. The voice of someone else he had not been able to protect.

 _S_ _orry, Rey_ _... I_ _can_ _'_ _t do it_ _._

He wasn't going to fight to end the past. He was going to fight to protect the future.

He looked up at the clear blue sky, which reminded him of the calm eyes of the blond.

 _B_ _ut you understand, don_ _'_ _t you_ _?_

He had heard about Rey shooting the Chairman because he had wanted tomorrow. So he must understand Shinn.

There would be no tomorrow if there was no yesterday. _R_ _ight, Stellar?_

For a moment, Shinn thought he saw a smiling golden-haired girl, and perhaps a smiling brown-haired girl, too. A warm smile broke over his face.

He moved his eyes down to the two red-heads. Lunamaria was now helping Meyrin fix her hair. His eyes softened further at the sight which reminded him of the times he had taken care of his sister.

To tell the truth, their exchange had sometimes made him feel uncomfortable for that reason. However, he was happy for them, glad that the sisters still could spend time together. He was glad that he had not killed Meyrin, someone's little sister, someone he cared about.

"Luna, Meyrin. Let's go."

They looked at him. Lunamaria asked, "Are you sure? We still have time."

"Yeah. It's fine."

The sisters exchanged glances, and smiled for some reason he didn't understand.

The girls turned around to walk toward the entrance of the park, waving at the woman in farewell and discussing where they could fix Meyrin's hair properly.

He started walking as well, never looking back. He didn't need to. He wasn't leaving anything behind. He was taking all of them with him. They would always be with him, inside him. He would be able to see them again. Maybe tomorrow.

 _S_ _ee you, Mayu, Stellar_ _._

So now, today, he walked forward. With his past. Toward his future.

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N** : While watching GSD, I thought the promises Shinn made to Stellar at their first meeting are a kind of lie. Well, they are white lies. He meant well. But they are still lies, yet he didn't seem to realize it.

The thought kept coming back to me, and this fic was born.

You may have been confused about what Stellar saw at her last moment. In the original version, it looked like Stellar and Shinn were floating in the universe during their final conversation. In the remastered version, however, it looked like they were under the sea. This fic is based on the remastered version.

Shinn's last part is also mostly based on the remastered version. But if you watched Final Plus, there should be no problem since what Kira, Rey, and Stellar said in Final Plus and in the remastered version seem to be the same.

···

I respect, and envy, the authors who can write simple, short, beautifully and well written stories (not that long stories are bad. I love reading them, and I respect those who can write and complete them, too). And this fic was my attempt to write a short fic since my fics have this tendency to get longer and longer...

Well, okay, I know this isn't really short. I tried...but I seem to simply lack the talent to write a short fic.

Anyway, thank you for reading. And I thank those who wrote a review of my previous fics, too. You motivated me to keep writing!

* * *

 ***posted 05/22** **/16***


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